Curb Your Fanboyism

I often see comments on internet forums about how great one system is while simultaneously trashing another. People seemingly won’t hesitate for a second to voice their opinions on how hard the Xbox pwns and how the PlayStation equivalent doesn’t even come close. As for Nintendo, why, what are you, stupid?

I get that people are loyal to something they love and own. Gamers are very passionate about the things they care about, so as a defensive mechanism these arguments often turn into attacks. Somewhere along explaining why Xbox Live rocks will eventually turn to why the PlayStation Network sucks in comparison, and in an attempt to defend why the PSN is a solid alternative comments will consequently be made about how Xbox Live requires a paid membership to do something that the PSN offers for free. A PC gamer would then chime in on how how Steam is the ultimate network to play online games, only to be retorted by the fact that PC gamers need to upgrade their graphics card every six months. It’s a never-ending loop to brewing something bigger out of nothing.

These kinds of comments are tearing apart something that we all care for so much. It’s been a long and winding road to see how far gaming has become from the past twenty years. It’s taken so long for gaming to be taken seriously by mainstream society, hell, it was only earlier this year did a California judge finally related videogames as art, and because of that they deserve the same level of First Amendment protection as books, plays, and movies. Shouldn’t we spend our collective time and energy celebrating that milestone victory instead of arguing which looks the best in 1080p?

“The PlayStation Move is pointless.” “The 3D in the 3DS is just a gimmick.” “Social games aren’t real games.” These comments are dimes in a dozen on the internet, but the way I see it, different devices and genre of games just serve different purposes for different demographics. Just because you’re not one of the five million people who bought Just Dance 2 for the Wii doesn’t mean the people who did are any less of a gamer than you are. Just because you don’t understand the point of a pricey, albeit limited, portable device doesn’t mean the 3DS is doom to fail. And just because people didn’t spend as much time playing Final Fantasy 7 growing up doesn’t give you the right to invalidate other gamers.

As much as I commend people for voicing opinions, our opinions need to be constructive and of substance. As fans of this finicky, ever-changing entertainment medium, our voices shouldn’t be mindless and alienating because too much of that will end up as white noise destined to be drowned. As loyal gamers, we need to be more encompassing and welcome new gamers with open arms, instead of making them feel intimidated and inadequate. Sure, we need to speak our mind to provide constructive, if not critical, feedback, but like a critique in an art class it’s not helpful when you say “I hate it” without explaining why or how it could be better.

You don’t need to love everything, but you do need to give respect to the games, as well as the creative talents behind those games. You see, the gaming industry, as with any industry, cannot be solely made up of a single genre of games or publisher. For example, can you imagine the music industry to only consists of one artist or genre? Some people like jazz while others prefer metal or hip-hop. I don’t personally listen to hip-hop, but that doesn’t mean I would start bashing on Jay-Z in favor of Miles Davis. These two artists are different, but they’re also essential in ensuring the music industry survives in the modern age of dwindling sales and instant gratification. The same idea applies for videogames and the gaming industry in general.

We need competition and variety in order for the gaming industry thrive. We need to be respectful of each genre, yes even facebook games, because otherwise the entire gaming lineup would consists of nothing but Michael Bay-esque first-person shooters. As much as I don’t understand the appeal of Zynga games, they’re a pioneer in social media gaming and a success story to peak the interest of other game makers to follow suit. Without the success of CityVille from Zynga, perhaps there would’ve never been a Pig Up! from PopCap Games. Expanding platforms and building audiences is how industries, gaming or otherwise, can blossom and thrive.

And who knows, you may end up liking an unfamiliar game if you just give it a chance.